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garynumanMarkthalle, Hamburg, Germany
16th June 2022
Gary Numan - “Intruder Tour” 2022 -  Special Guests: I Speak Machine

Synth Pop icon GARY NUMAN visited Hamburg with his latest album ‘Intruder’, another work of genius between electronic music and Industrial Rock, Gothic Rock, and Darkwave. I was lucky enough to visit NUMAN’s performance at this year’s WGT in Leipzig and now also had a great opportunity to attend a solo show here in Hamburg. The special guests for the evening were I SPEAK MACHINE, the experimental music act and audio-visual project of musician Tara Busch.


I Speak Machine

I SPEAK MACHINE is the audio-visual collaboration between Tara Busch and Maf Lewis. On 22 April, a new album of the band was released, called ‘War’. Created with filmmaker and collaborator Maf Lewis and co-produced with Dean Honer (ROÍSÍN MURPHY, ADD N TO (X)), ‘War’is a collection of Busch’s most visceral, confrontational and honest music yet.

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Music & Performance
Taking four years to complete, ‘War’ allowed Busch to push herself into new, unfamiliar territories in her synth-based song-writing, while also returning to the immediate, aggressive spirit of her past life in rock. The Trump presidency was a looming presence, which prompted Busch to explore not only the country’s sinister political atmosphere but the turmoil that was raging in her own life - she was emerging from an alcohol addiction while battling with trauma and panic attacks that sometimes left her bedridden. Bush screamed at the top of her voice, moved chaotically and seemed to be trying to get rid of all her emotions inside. Meanwhile, with her industrial hard tracks, with grimiest synth sounds she did a great job of warming up the audience, before the synth pop legend took the stage.

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 7.5 / 10

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Gary Numan

GARY NUMAN had already made a name for himself in the late 80s. The musician from Hammersmith, London, performed with THE TUBEWAY ARMY in 1979 and thrilled music lovers of the time with his hits ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric’. The foundations were thus laid for a legend in the New Wave scene. His last two albums showed that he didn’t deviate from his musical path, reinforcing fans’ expectations of the new album. ‘Splinter’ and ‘Savage’ are both great albums that should definitely be on your music must-have collection. Although ‘Savage’ only reached the number 77 in Germany, the long-awaited new album ‘Intruder’ surpassed all expectations and reached the number 15 spot in Germany and the number 2 in the UK music charts, GARY’s home country. The success of the album is definite, just like in the good old days.

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Music & Performance
But now to the main act of the day. Electro-pop pioneer GARY NUMAN and his Dune-like musicians were enthusiastically received by the audience at the Markthalle in Hamburg. The sounds are well mixed and the lighting and fog create a wonderful atmosphere. The effectiveness of the songs is authentically conveyed by GARY and his musicians. Markthalle has a super cosmic atmosphere from the first to the last minute. Mr NUMAN lives up to his title as an electropop pioneer. The tour’s setlist is a good mix, with a focus on the last three albums, but also includes timeless and always popular songs from earlier works. Besides songs from the current album ‘Intruder’, a few tracks from ‘Savage’ and ‘Splinter’, there are also tracks from the whole NUMAN era repertoire.

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Classic hits such as ‘Cars’ or ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric’ grace the cake. Another highlight of the show are of course the lighting effects, creating a sense of space, and overall there is something alien about maestro NUMAN’s work, from the costumes, to the music, sounds and imagery it seems that you are temporarily transported to another reality where there is a higher intelligence, and limitless possibilities of knowledge. By the end of the concert, it should be clear to every attendee why other great musicians regard GARY NUMAN as a leading icon. A great evening full of good music comes to an end. Many good things remain in the memory and it is curious to see what else Mr Numan will spell out musically from his electric machine.

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Setlist
01. Intruder
02. Halo
03. Metal
04. The Gift
05. Ghost Nation
06. Is This World Not Enough
07. Films
08. Pure
09. Resurrection
10. Down in the Park
11. Here in the Black
12. Love Hurt Bleed
13. Cars
14. My Name Is Ruin
15. The Chosen
16. A Prayer for the Unborn
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17. Everything Comes Down to This
18. Are “Friends” Electric?

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 / 10

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All pictures by Iryna Kalenska

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